I'm Alive
by Dreamingx
Summary: My name is Madge Undersee. My only friend could be dead. I'm lost. I'm trying to find District 13. My family is dead. I survived District 12's bombing.
1. Chapter 1: The Damage Done

**Hey guys! This is just a little idea. It may only be in a one-shot, but if you'd like, it can be a multi-chaptered FanFiction.(:  
Partly because I feel bad for not updating my other stories in a while. You know life after winter break. BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!**

**Anyway, the plot of the story involves Madge Undersee, and what I think would have happened if she survived the bombing. Her journey to Thirteen. If she would make it. Blah, blah, blah. So... give it a shot?;)**

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**I'm Alive.**

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**Summary: **_My name is Madge Undersee. My only friend could be dead. I'm lost. I'm trying to find District 13. My home is destroyed. I survived District 12's bombing._

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Ash.

That's the only thing I can see now. Well, maybe patches of white. I'm looking there. The ceiling. Most of it is black with ash, though. Where am I now? Well, that's the thing. District 12 was just bombed. I was left behind. I guess everyone thinks I'm dead.

I, the mayor's daughter, Madge Undersee, am dead.

But no. I feel pain. I can twitch my finger. I'm still alive? Alive. I'd much rather be dead. There's a war going on, involving my friend. Well, I guess you could call her a friend. Katniss Everdeen. She left for the 74th Hunger Games and made it out with her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark. How? They were the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12. My district. But the next year, this year, they went into the 75th Hunger Games, or the Quarter Quell. Did they make it out alive?

I don't know.

All I know now is that I'm hurt, I'm alive, District 12 is broken.

What about my family? Father? Mother? I force my head upward, so that I can at least see. I'm still inside my home. The roof has been blown off. The once beautiful marble pillars in front of my house are blackened and crumbled under larger pieces of the house.

I flick my eyes around the room, terrified to move my head. "Daddy?" I choke out, my voice coming out choked and hoarse. My chest tightens with the word, and I cough a storm, but it still came out. There's no sound but my voice and coughs echoing around the house. "Mom?" I begin to panic at the vacantness.

What if I was the only one who lived?

Maybe I'm not the strongest girl, or the toughest girl, but I force my arms to push me into an upright position. Even that seems to take my breath away. _Baby steps, Madge. Baby steps. _I wait a moment for my lungs to catch up with my mind, and then look around a minute. Trying to find something, anything, that tells me my family lived.

I'm in the study. My desk is busted in half. I'm surprised none of the rubble fell on me.

I place my hand on one half of the desk, and struggle with it. _Come on, Madge. Stand up. _It's like doing pull-ups, but seems a lot harder. Not that I could have done any before. But I finally, _finally_, make it to my feet. I crane forward onto the desk, though, panting and coughing.

Taking a chance, I move my feet away from the desk. I stumble over my feet and fall to the floor, onto my knees. I chastise myself silently, trying again. I pull myself up out of the floor and place a hand on part of the roof that caved in. I take a slow step away from the desk. I'm still standing. Another? Still standing. But my hand is on the roof. I try releasing it. It's harder, but my legs are used to my weight now, somewhat.

So, I walk around the house. The floor beneath my feet creaks with every step. I'm on the upper level, and that terrifies me. I move across the hallway, holding the wall to my left for stability, and then find the door leading to the staircase.

I twist it open, and pull on it. If I hadn't been looking down, I would have falling into a hole. I look down the hole, and find that this is now my Father's grave. Tears fill my eyes as I see his open blue eyes gazing up at the ceiling. Mouth hung open slightly. His chest refusing to rise and fall.

Hot tears stream down my cheeks, but I refuse to look at my passed father any longer. I sniffle and look at the gap between myself and the next few stairs. Maybe, if I wasn't aching all over, I could jump there. But now that I am aching and bruised, I don't think jumping is an option.

So how do I get down?

I look between myself and the stairs. I'm going to kill myself, but I back up, and then take off as fast as my feet will carry me and then leap. I don't miss, but once I'm there, I stumble down the rest of the stairs. I land on my stomach, and I gag at how much _that _hurt, but I push myself up slowly, _achingly_ slowly - until I'm on my feet.

But then I think of something.

I move through the house until I find my Father's bedroom. There, I find my mother, her face and torso hidden, crushed under a part of the wall. I wince at the sight of their once white bed now covered in crimson and black. I shudder, but move to Father's drawer. I dig around a moment before finding the golden locket.

The golden locket has belonged to my father since he was little. It matches the pin I'd given Katniss before she'd left the first time for the Capitol, but it doesn't have a Mockingjay on it. Instead, it has an engraved 'M' on the front. 'M' for Malcolm Undersee, my grandfather's name. Father's name is Matthew. Like it's called, the golden locked is made of gold, just like the pin. It was passed down from my grandfather, to Father.

I limp back to my father at the staircase and move over the rubble until I find him. I shudder with the tears that threaten me, but I hold them in. Why? Because I know I'll have to be tougher than this if I am to live longer. I stumble with the latch on the back, but once it's undone, I move the collar of Father's shirt and am about to tie it to him, when a part of my mind yells at me to keep it.

_Keep it?_

I wait a moment, but my mind has decided to shut up. Seriously? But I do want to keep the locket. It's my father's though. Shouldn't he still have it?

_Just take it with you, Madge, _that betraying part of me thinks. _It's the last thing you've got of him._

It has a point, and I slowly, questioningly pull my hands, the locket, away from his neck. As if he could just reach out and take it from me. My thumb fumbles across the nick in the side, and the locket pops open. Inside, I find a picture of Mother and Father together, smiling. It must have been before Mom got sick with those awful headaches, and I kind of smile at it. On the other half, I find myself laughing at something out in the meadow. I was only six or seven at the time, and I feel the hot tears stream down my cheeks again.

_The better days._

I sniffle and attach the locket around my neck, placing a kiss to Father's forehead. I swallow back a sob but silently rant on how unfair this all is. How sick, cruel, and so callous the Capitol is. If Mother heard me, she'd scold me.

So I cut off those thoughts and try to think.

If anyone did make it out of Twelve, they went into the woods. That's where I will go. I push open the front door after making the long, hard trek to the front door. The smell immediately assaults me and I gag at the stench of blood and smoke. It's making my eyes water.

I put a hand over my nose and just catch all of the limp limbs sprawled out across the streets. Lifeless, pale, but thick crimson streaks spread out everywhere. Dark hair versus light hair all made dark with ash.

I could just run back inside, trying to find safety, but there is no more of that. No more of that terrified Madge that there wants to be. So I force my feet into calm strides, but then find myself running and trying not to trip over limbs. My feet squish against the red, and I cry my eyes out, but I reach the fence that surrounds District 12. Some parts of it have been blown out of the ground, so I move under those parts. I run across the blackened meadow and into the still green woods.

And then, my journey begins.

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**Hope that was okay, haha. Review and tell me what you think? And Fave/Follow if you want. Hehe, it's appreciated.  
Thankerrrs!**

**-xSmiley ;]**


	2. Chapter 2: Guardian Angel

**You guys are amazing. Just putting that out there.( :  
And because you all are so amazing, I'm updating the next chapter on the same day. :D  
No Author's Note besides that. Feel special.;D Haha.**

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**I'm Alive.**

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Disclaimer: _I don't own the Hunger Games, only the ideas in this FanFiction.(:_

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**Chapter 2: **_Guardian Angel._

I think the woods is the only thing that can take away the smell of the action back in District 12. Instead of the blood and smoke, the strong smell of trees fills my nose. Instead of the silence, birds chirp and the small buzzes of any insects fill it. I could be smiling.

I take a deep breath and look around. Where would the others be going if they came into the woods? Another district, maybe? No. The Peacekeepers would question them, and if they were finally caught, which I think would be soon after, they'd be sent to the Capitol to work forever in President Snow's mansion. They'd be considered Avoxes – muted prisoners of the Capitol. Apparently, they are criminals, but something makes me wonder if they're really just innocent kids forced to work.

Then again, I've thought a lot of things lately.

Anyway, Gale, who I know didn't die in that bombing, who is most likely leading whatever group there is, is smarter than that as to go to a district. Gale Hawthorne is an illegal hunter. He and Katniss always bring me strawberries, since they know I'd give a lot for any of them. To anyone, it's obvious he has a strong love for Katniss, and, honestly, I'm jealous of it. I hate saying that, since I know I'm just the mayor's daughter to him.

Although, when Katniss was gone, he did come to me more often. Not often enough to be considered visiting without a reason, but to sell strawberries. Yes, he'd put most of his time into hunting for their families. He was sure to steer clear of our old Head Peacekeeper, Cray's home though. That troubled him the last time. His turkey sentenced him to a whipping.

It'd taken him forever to heal. I'd sent morphling from my Father's office. It was from the Capitol. They use it to heal anyone who needs it desperately, and right then, Gale did. I didn't stay to see how much it helped him, but two months later, he'd been up and at it again.

I just realize, but as I was thinking these things, my feet led me to a clearing. _Isn't this perfect? _I frown, looking around. There's nothing here, but looking down, I find a flask. My eyes widen and I stumble forward and onto my knees, scrambling with the lid.

Once it's opened, I stick it into my mouth, but nothing comes out. I pull it out, feeling stupid, and tap the opening to my hand. Instead of water, a note of paper falls out. It's torn off something, but with delicate letters written.

_I don't know, or think, if anyone will get this soon, but if you do, and you survived Twelve's bombing, there should be a lake a few miles down hill. Once you find it, fill this flask. I'm leaving some iodine for you. Continue traveling down hill, and you can hope to find District 13. __That's where we're going anyway._

_I hope you make it there, and if there is a 13, we'll be there.  
__-Prim and the rest of 12._

Relief floods over me. Prim made it out, and there are more of District 12 kids who made it out. I guess I could understand why everyone left the mayor's daughter and her family to die there, but I didn't know they were that heartless. Won't it surprise them when they see me arriving.

_Don't get your hopes up, Madge._

I chastise myself again, sticking the note in my dress pocket. I guess it wasn't very smart to leave in my dress. It's white and torn from the walk I'd made, covered in patches of black.

Looking at myself for the first time, I find bruises spotting my arms and legs. My temples ache. My blonde hair feels tangled. Nevermind, it is. My fingers catch half way down my hair, and I attempt to unknot it. After a while, I have my hair straight. No, not really straight, but wavy with the tangles that I'd unprofessionally pulled out.

Beads of sweat dampen my forehead and I look up at the sky. The sun is directly above me, and I groan. I've probably walked more than I have ever. I look behind me, but find trees and the vacant black air.

_This far. I came this far._

I sigh, turning forward again. I think a minute and then take a left. This direction is down hill, like the note said. Oh, Prim. My little guardian angel. It's involuntary, but still. I continue walking down hill, trying to keep my mind focused. It's hard, but easy, at the same time if that makes any sense.

The first few hours go by quickly until the thirst of the past few hours finally sets in. I find myself coughing again, holding onto trees for balance. I take deep, slow breaths, looking from side to side, trying to find the lake. The iodine that my guardian angel promised.

The next thing I think of is odd, but I feel like Katniss in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. She'd nearly died of dehydration the first day. What if I'm not as lucky as to survive it? I urge those thoughts out of my mind as I nearly slip on something slippery. I look down and then find mud.

Mud!

Everything seems to clear and I hurry down the next few feet until stumbling into a clearing.

A lake.

But also at that lake, I find my first real predator. A bear.

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**Okay, sooo... that was Chapter 2. I know it wasn't much of a cliffhanger at the end, but HEY! She still needs her iodine and note from Prim, eh? And what do you think of Prim's notes to her? Involuntary, like she said, but she's her guardian angel.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed in the first 30 minutes of its release!(: You guys are amazing, and I love you more than everything right now.**

**Go thank these people for this chapter:**

**HGFan4719  
FieryShadows13  
OhSweetWords  
LongLiveThePretenders  
snoozinghamster.**

**-_xSmiley_ ;]**


	3. Chapter 3: Fortunate Escape

**Once again, love you guys. Hehe, and guess what? I was up most of the night finishing this chapter. So, it's here noww!:D And I'm glad you all liked little protector Prim. I just kind of figured, you can't be Prim and not be thinking about someone else.(:  
Anyway, get to reading, since... that's what you came here for, right?:)**

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**I'm Alive**

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Disclaimer: _I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters, only the ideas in this FanFiction.(:_

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**Chapter 3:**

I immediately freeze, the dizziness now completely drained and replaced with panic. _A bear? Are you kidding me? _I guess I figured I'd run into some sort of wild animal, but there it is, fishing. I look around a moment, and then find the bottle of iodine drops.

It's just sitting there. A small piece of paper wrapped around it.

Now, Madge, how do you get there? Looking between myself and the bear, I realize he's on the other side of the lake. Maybe, if I could just move slowly enough, I could get it and leave? I don't know - I'm not a professional with them like Katniss; nor a hunter like Gale.

Now I'm stuck.

I groan, and then slap a hand over my mouth. From the corner of my eye, I can tell the bear's head is lifted. Now he's watching me. I can only hope it's a he, anyway. If it was a female, and she had cubs, where would I be? Running for my life, that's what.

My limbs freeze, and I close my eyes, trying not to let it see me blink. The wading of water, makes my limbs tremor with fear.

_Is this where I'm going to die? Trying to get a gift from my guardian angel, Prim?_

Most likely, but a noise draws silence. It's a sort of roar, but it's small and high pithced. It's a female, now I know, but the yelp came from somewhere behind the bear. The moving of water begins again, but it gets quieter and quieter. I allow my eyes to open slowly, and the bear's back is to me now.

I exhale in silent relief, not even daring to move yet. Only one sentence plays through my mind now; _Please don't come back_. Once I hear the rustling of bushes, I look to my left, where the bear was, and find it's disappeared into the trees.

I direct my eyes back to the bottle of iodine and then dart in that direction, scooping the bottle and paper up and then running out of that clearing. Not far, because I know, hope, Prim has more advice for me. Besides, I'll have to go back and get water anyway.

I pull the small piece of paper off of the bottle, and then pull it straight, reading through the still small letters.

_Did you make it here, okay? I hope you did. I probably should have warned you that this was wild animal galore, though, so... sorry about that. Anyway, if you're getting this, you made it! I still don't know if anyone is even there, but if you are, I hope the iodine helps you. Don't use it too quickly at a time, though, okay?_

_Continue down hill, I'm still leaving things to help you._

_-Prim and the rest of 12._

I smile at the note, and then move back to the lake. I look around a moment, but am fortunate to find that the bear is gone. I move a little ways out, terrified that the bear will just pounce out of nowhere. I crouch down by the bank, dipping the flask into the water.

The water cools my hands and it feels heavenly against me, so I move a little deeper. A little more. A little more. I'm knee-deep now, the water only soaking a few inches of my dress. I bend down slightly, taking handfuls of water and splashing it to my face. It's refreshing, and while I'm doing this, I drip some of the iodine in the water. I then return to the water, itself.

And, since it feels so heavenly to me right now, I tug on the fabric of my dress until it's off of my head. I make sure I'm deeper into the water, though, before I do anything. My cheeks flush as I look around, as if someone could be stalking me. Call me an idiot for thinking that, but I'll still have my worries.

Even when I am stuck in the woods.

I inhale a breath and then move under the cool ripples of the water. I shudder at how cool I suddenly am, but it chills my still nervous bones.

Perfect.

I crawl out of the water after washing my hair, and then pull the dress back down over me. I sit on the bank and after another ten minutes of waiting, I decide to take a drink. I pull the top of, since it's been thirty-minutes, and pour a little down my throat. And, to me, it tastes like it could be regular bottled water.

So I swallow down at least half of it before remembering I'll need some later. Something, the lid I think, pinches me and I wince. It almost _stung_.

Food.

That's something else I'll need. In fact, my head aches with the hunger overcoming me. I look up at the sky, and find that it's just beginning to fade - the light. I begin to panic. What was I thinking? I could starve myself, freeze myself to death. How had Katniss done this before?

I blink back nervousness, the world dipping from side to side, and look around a minute. If I'm going downhill, it will be the opposite direction the bear went. So I pick myself up and then move a little further down hill before hearing something. It's the same yip as the baby bear I'd heard and my feet pick up.

_Yip! Yip! Yip!_

Panicking, I take off as fast as my feet will carry me, the branches slicing into my exposed legs and arms. During the run, though, I hold my gifts from Prim close to me. I trip over roots, but scramble to my feet. Terrified. That terrified part of me will never go away, I don't think.

The world seems to spin, bubbles and darts fly around me. I fall over again, swatting at the air. One of the bubbles finds my eye, but before any sort of pain can come, I'm blacked out.

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**Oo, she blacked out! I know why; can anyone guess?(: Okay, first reviewer who answers correctly gets this cookie: (::) If you don't like the cookie, take a donut. (o)  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter/Favorited/Followerd. You guys are amazing, and... what would I do without you? Haha, die, probably. Or be like Madge and 'randomly' black out.**

**I'll update asap!**

**-_xSmiley_ [;**


	4. Chapter 4: Awakening and the hovercraft

**I kind of hate myself right now. I made you wait two days for an update! Dumb busy weekends—I did my fair share of work over the _week_.  
Guuyyys, I know I said the first person to get it right would get a cookie/donut, BUT since I have a heart, I'm giving you all some. Soooo, eat these:  
(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) / (O) (O) (O) (O) (O)  
Hehe, You're welcome.**

**_HGFan4719 _gets an extra because he was the first review. :)**

**Anywhoooo, you came here for another chapter, right? And yes, the little things were trackerjackers.(:**  
**NOW, get to the chapter. Sorry if it's not much of a filler./:**

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**I'm Alive.**

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Disclaimer: _I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters, only the ideas in this FanFiction.(:_

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**Chapter 4: **_Awakening; the hovercraft._

I wake up who knows when, feeling awful. My head still spins, but it's not even close to what it was before. I'm lying in the same position I'd blacked out in, so I sit up. My back pops and I have a major creak in my neck, making me wince. The cramps, though, only reinforce the question. How long was I asleep?

Sitting up, I cough lightly, and then exhale in relief. My cough is almost gone, finally. I smile at that, and then look around. My flask is only a yard away from me at the moment, the iodine bottle with it. I move over to my gifts, and then twist open the flask, pouring the thing down my throat. Swallowing roughly, the bottle empties, and I move hesitantly to the lake only to refill it before returning back.

On the way back, I find a large empty shell of a nest. I guess that explains it all; trackerjackers. They're a Capitol made 'bee,' but are full gold. From a distance, they could be mistaken for a regular wasp if you didn't see their nests. Their nests seem almost metallic in color, and are double the size of an extra-large wasp nest. So a part of me wonders what made the nest fall?

I'm just about to reach the spot I'd awoken in, when I glance to my left and then look forward. Wait a minute. I turn my head again and then find the fur of the same bear I thought was going to eat me alive. I yelp and leap backwards, against a tree. I wait for its head to snap around, to have those black eyes stare at me, but instead, it doesn't even twitch.

My limbs remain tight as I step away from the thick wood of the tree I'd slammed myself into, and I take a cautious step toward the bear. Can these things play possum? I don't think so, but what if they could, and it was just drawing me in?

_No, Madge. It couldn't have. If it did, it would have gotten you a long time ago._

So what's it doing? Once I'm a yard away, I notice the large bumps over the bears back that is facing me. I just notice that my hand has only one of the same bumps. I have no doubts about what caused it, but now I know that the pinch I'd felt while drinking my first few sips of water was. I also know that there is no way the bear could have survived a full-on trackerjacker attack.

I still have my hesitations, though, as I move up to the bear. A part of me feels glad that the bear is dead, but the other part feels nothing but sympathetic. It didn't want to die from a Capitol made bug; nobody does, but she had. I involuntarily pet it, but then yank my head back. _None of that, Undersee. _But my feelings have a mind of their own.

It's face is covered with the bumps of trackerjacker stings, dead ones sticking to his fur. I wince and move away from it. I look at my hand, but find the stinger of the one that stung me is still in the bump. I touch the little golden stinger and wince at the sharp pain that shoots through my hand, rendering it limp. I inhale and count to three before grabbing the stinger with my forefinger and thumb. I whimper loudly but yank it out, flooding relief through my hand that is now oozing green.

I think that's a good thing.

I'm sure it's been about thirty minutes, so I unscrew the lid from the flask, letting small drops of water chill my nervously tremoring hand. I'm positive that began when I'd pulled out the stinger. I sigh in relief and lean against the bark of a tree, already tired again. But like I'd wondered before—I don't know how long I was asleep.

Now, though, I'm starved.

I look around, and then stare at the bright blue sky. I'm too used to having food handed to me. Now, I feel completely empathetic for the Seam kids who had to work for food. How heartless to just sit inside, digging into something while most of the district starves to death. I shake the thought, not wanting tears to come.

Continuing to look around, I find a berry bush. I look at it for a moment, trying to determine whether or not they're edible. Since this woods is filled with Capitol created things, I'm terrified to see. So, I try thinking of the Hunger Games. If a tribute is about to eat a Capitol created berry, the cameras show us the kind of berry and it's name, shape, whatever. I move over to the bush and then pick one, looking at it.

It's a simple round one. Indigo, with a circular indent on top of it. I squish it between my fingers and a purpley, blue liquid comes out. Nice job, Madge. You couldn't even recognize a blueberry. I roll my eyes at myself and then pick a handful of the things.

So now, I dig into the blueberries and water. It isn't the most appetizing meal I've ever eaten, but it's better than waiting until I'm starved. Once I've finished my handful and I'm decently full, I stand myself up, using a tree for balance.

Downhill.

I look to where I was lying, and find that I had been straight enough in the mind to begin down. I smile to myself, patting my shoulder, and then walking down the slightly dropping forest.

As I walk, I let the sounds of mockingjays and other types of birds that I don't have names for relax my mind. It's probably a bad thing not to be of full alert, but oh well. I deserve some down time.

It's been only a few hours when the wood silences suddenly. I wait a moment and then hear a slicing of air somewhere behind me. I snap my neck around and then see a hovercraft, flying high in the air. I completely panic and dive into the bushes, covering my eyes with my hands.

Now I'll be sent to the Capitol to become an Avox.

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**That wasn't much of a filler chapter, but I hope that was an okay cliff hanger.(: I'm so evil, bwahaha! Sooo, wanna find out what happens? Yeah? Review and tell me what you like and dislike so far, or what I should try and improve on. Example: Length, maybe? I don't know. I'm just terrified you all don't like something that I'm overlooking.**

**Going to update soon for the people who've followed this story and reviewed to make me all thankful.:3  
-xSmiley [:**


	5. Chapter 7: ANs Deleted: Mountains

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WHOEVER IN THE WORLD! I updated. :D**

**...Don't kill me.**

**Hehe, hey you guys - my faithful little followers and favoriters. Umm... How's life? I'm reeeeeeeally sorry. I did great on my school work if that helps any of your impatience with me. Anyway..,**

**HGFan4719 - Whoops. Sorry 'bout that. Thanks, though! I did great and that meant a lot. :)**

**FieryShadows13 - Baha! I know right? I probably died a little when I realized I wouldn't have time to write this. /:**

**Okay, and the votes. Pretty little votes. It's practically a three-way tie, but I did choose an idea. To suit(ish) all of you. You know what I just realized? There wasn't even a message from Prim in the last chapter -.- Where was I when I updated that? Somewhere broken down in the mind, I think.**

**Don't hurt me if it's short, I'm pretty exhausted :P But I WILL be trying to make them longer in the future. c:  
Anyway, that vvv is why you're here. :) Go R&R!**

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_"Now I'll be sent to the Capitol to become an Avox."_

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**I'm Alive.  
**Disclaimer: _I don't own the Hunger Games, or any of the characters, only the ideas in this FanFiction.(:_

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**Chapter 5.**

Panicking. Silence. Panicking. Hovercraft.

An Avox. I, the mayor's daughter, will become an Avox. I tighten my hands over my eyes as I see the white Peacekeepers outfit step out of the hovercraft, helping escort another that I immediately recognize as Thread. "If there are any survivors, they will be here," he speaks into a watch, I think.

"Of course," another speaks. Their heavy Capitol made boots tromp through the forest, crunching over dead leaves and twigs. But they're getting louder, and louder, and louder. Peeking through the branches, I find one of them making their way toward my bush. I nearly whimper, but I keep it in, my stomach twists and my mind yells at me to run. The only thing I can do is squish farther into the bush, pull the leaves silently in front of me, and hug Prim's 'sponsor' gifts to me tightly.

"Hurry up, Mito," a Peacekeeper grumbles, messing with the watch, I think, that is attached to his wrist. The Peacekeeper who is dangerously close to my bush mumbles to himself, moving his feet a little quicker.

I want to scream my head off and silent tears stream down my face. I don't think anyone could have seen the mayor's daughter becoming a darned Avox, could they? I don't think so. If I couldn't, I don't think they could have.

He comes into eye-view of me, and my heart picks up a surprising lot at the blinding ray of sun shining off of his snow white Peacekeeper uniform. But if I can barely see myself, he must not be able to, right?

Wrong.

I am so, so wrong.

His eyes just land on mine and a smirk lights up his face, but something saves me. A loud and near exploding. They all look up and I just see hovercrafts zooming over my part of the woods, dropping shells. The first one hits the ground, exploding into fire. It launches me backwards and out of the bush and into a clearing of the forest.

The Peacekeepers could see me, but they are much more concerned with the bombing at hand. I scramble upward and grab my gifts as the next falls. Still, this one launches me forward and into a large tree. My head throbs and I'm sure I'm crying, but I move away from the tree, sprinting further and further into the forest.

_Where's downhill!?_

My eyes snap around, and I find I'm running to the side. The world, though, seems distorted and I run in the direction that at least _looks_ downhill. I feel like myself the moment the trackerjacker venom messed with my mind, but a little more stable.

I look around desperately before hearing the screams and commands from behind me, pushing my legs forward.

_Just run, Madge! Think later._

Panting and running in a straight line, I don't allow myself to think anymore. Sprinting, dodging roots and branches, the noises from the bombs and screams of the Peacekeepers fading in life and distance.

Dying.

I shudder at the word and then trip yet again. "Dumb root!" I mutter quietly, standing up and continuing my running.

I don't know how long I run. Everything is off a little bit to me at the moment. But I come into another clearing and look around a minute before finding a strip of paper, a satchel, and a box of matches.

I scramble toward it and scoop them up before moving out of the clearing. I straighten out the piece of paper that's beginning to yellow over. Wincing at the yellow, I stand there, leaning against the fat trunk of an oak tree, and wait for my breathing to catch up with my current heart rate. I read the pretty black letters:

_Doing okay, little follower? I hope so. The woods haven't been very kind to us lately, and I know that, if we're having trouble, it's going to be hard on you if you only have a few people with you. Anyway, I have a caution: don't use the matches when it's dark. According to a friend, you're only supposed to use it until it starts to turn, and then put it out because of the danger it could cause. Please listen to that. Also, good luck! New directions, too! A few miles to the right, there should be a load of mountains. Not steep, but just mountains. A little beyond that, I think District 13 waits! Isn't that exciting?_

_-Prim and the rest of 12_.

Smiling as I always do when I get a letter and gift from her. In this case, two. The satchel for the things she's giving me? I don't know but in any reason, I'm glad. And _thankful_, but she must know I am.

And then the new directions.

I turn to my right and then my left. I guess I mixed myself up. I turn around and then move back to the clearing. Looking at it, I find places where things were laid. Well, I guess, anyway. I don't think a square could naturally be printed on the ground.

Looking in the direction I came, I back up and then turn my back to it. Looking at it, I think. I guess not being in school for who knows how long doesn't do good to a girl logically. Prim came from the way I had and this is still going downhill. So I look to my right. It's that right. I smile proudly to myself before taking off that way and slinging the satchel over my shoulder.

Walking along the forest, I'm still partly regaining my breath from the stress of the past weeks, but I do at least try to enjoy myself. Except for the fact that I'm really hungry and in desperate need of a shower, it's not impossible, but it's still really hard.

How do Gale and Katniss enjoy themselves here?

I'm not going to lie when I say the sounds are soothing and there's something relieving about knowing that nobody expects anything from you here. Not really, anyway. So I take deep breaths and just walk straight.

* * *

It only takes a little while to find something I can only describe as a mountain. Prim was right when she said they weren't steep but they're _huge_. It's mostly just red dirt, rocks, creases, and trees but going up in a slope.

Nice.

Since, like I said, it's most red dirt, I can see footprints. Just barely, and they almost only look like indentions, but I can tell they're not. It's a foot. I don't think a bear could make a footprint unless it was an artist.

I grin, almost immediately thinking of Peeta. I wonder how he's doing? And then I frown. He volunteered to protect Katniss; not to win that thing. And that's where I shake off the thought and focus on the mountain in front of me.

The first little while is easy, and then it gets difficult. It rises a bit, so my feet ache after only a measley five minutes. I constantly have to stop and stretch my feet, it hurts so bad. But I urge myself on when I want to stop.

Kudos to me for refilling my flask before I'd come.

The mountain is splotted with berry bushes, too. So I guess you could say I'm stocked up on those after the few hours of a hike up the mountain.

Looking up, I find the top of the mountain. Gasping, I scramble up the hill, eager to reach it. Whenever Katniss did bother talking about the woods at my request, she said the view from the ledge was priceless and I would pay anything to see it from the ledge. But this will have to do.

Up the whole way, the trees are shorter and more spread out so I can see.

My heart sinks. It's beautiful really, but there might be a little problem with my hiking endeavor. There's _so _many of them. I literally can't see a little thing past the mountains. The smaller ones look like green lumps but the larger ones look like a threat to a fragile foot.

Sinking into a sitting position, I groan as loudly as I have bothered to do in my entire life. If I'm going to _stay _alive, I have to climb past all of these.

_Why did I even bother coming this far? _I wonder while I press the heels of my hands to my forehead and stare down at the ground. _You aren't a survivor, Madge. You're an Undersee. You're the mayor's daughter. Face the facts, you're just _weak_._

They're things Gale would tease me about and I once again feel like I did before I came out here into the woods. Breathing in a shaky breath of air, I stand back up.

Nope. I'm not giving Gale the satisfaction this time.

And while I have this newfound confidence, I continue my hikes up and down these mountains.

* * *

**Don't forget to review!  
I just deleted the AN chapters that took up TWO.. Hehe. :)  
~xSmiley**


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